Believed to be woman missing for 28 years

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A Maine family cleaning out a dead relative's storage locker made a grisly find - the remains of a body believed to be woman missing since 1983.

The remains were in a freezer at a Lewiston storage facility where Frank Julian had rented a locker for decades prior to his death last month at age 80, according to the Sun Journal. The State Medical Examiner's Officer was to perform an autopsy Monday, but authorities believe the remains are of Kitty Wardwell, who went missing in July 1983 after last being seen with Julian, her former boyfriend.

"Our investigation now looks to the Medical Examiner's Office for answers," Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police, said. "DNA may need to be used to make a positive identification."

Wardwell was first reported missing by a friend in the summer of 1983, then again four months later by her sister. She was 29 when she vanished, while Julian was 52.

Julian told police in Salem, N.H., that he left Wardwell at a motel there after the couple fought. Police concluded that Wardwell was likely the victim of foul play.

According to Julian's obitury in the Sun Journal, he owned a pizza shop in Bangor in the 1960s, then became a novelty salesman until his death. He was survived by his wife, four sons and five daughters.